Why this beloved Phoenix music venue is closing soon

One of Arizona’s most active DIY music venues is shutting down in early 2026 after years of loud, chaotic punk and metal shows.

On Dec. 10, the co-owners of the north Phoenix all-ages spot, Ground Zero Studios, announced its impending closure in a post on social media.

“We did not come to this decision easily. We are financially unable to sustain at this time,” the statement read in part. “We will finish out our scheduled December shows, and possibly January’s. Please come show your love and support. We are hoping that ticket sales will help us to clear off some of the debt that we will be taking with us.”

Ground Zero’s final show is set for Jan. 17, headlined by NorCal punk bands Halibut Head and Nothing Special. Portland-based powerviolence band Machine Country and locals Body Rez will open.

It’s the final chapter for Ground Zero, an all-ages hub embraced by Phoenix’s punk scene.

The venue traces its roots to a run of DIY backyard shows in 2020, hosted by longtime local punk organizer Andy Walden and his girlfriend, Monica Quintero. Those grassroots gigs eventually grew into a series of physical spaces over five years.

Along the way, Ground Zero became a fixture of Phoenix’s DIY scene, built on accessibility, volume and community. In their statement, the co-owners reflected on those roots and the people who kept the space alive.

“We have been so very honored to have been able to provide a DIY space for you for as long as we have,” the statement read in part. “We want to let you all know that we appreciate each and every one of you! We could not have done it without our community that we have built.”

They also couldn’t have done it without a trio of punk puppets.

How Ground Zero Studios got started

Quintero says the couple operated Ground Zero out of a longtime desire to support Arizona’s punk scene. Walden heads up the Phoenix Pyrate Punx, the local chapter of a worldwide DIY promoter network. He also previously ran Krusty Palmz, a now-defunct DIY venue in the Valley.

The couple began hosting shows during the pandemic after Walden built a makeshift outdoor venue behind his home on the Gila River Indian Community.

“Andy built a stage in the backyard and dug out a pit for them to (mosh) around in,” Quintero says. “If the weather was bad, we took it inside, but shows were mostly punk and usually outside.”

In 2023, the couple moved their shows into a cramped strip mall space near 16th Street and Thomas Road. Quintero says the move came after “one of our friends in town needed help with business.”

Their stay proved to be short-lived. “We quickly outgrew that spot,” Quintero says.

Months later, Quintero and Walden relocated Ground Zero to an industrial park off 19th Drive south of Peoria Avenue. The DIY space thrived as others got involved. Fellow punk promoters Omar and Carmen Castillo, also known as OCJK, helped run the venue. Local musician and sound engineer Robert Turny, also known as Slug Coil, operated a recording studio on site.

Quintero says turnout was strong during Ground Zero’s first few years. Alongside punk shows, the venue also hosted metal bands on the regular. Case in point: the annual two-night Mess Fest took over the space in both 2024 and 2025.

“I remember our first big show we had there, we filled out quick and then there was still a line all the way around the block,” she says. “It was amazing.”

For Quintero, the biggest reward was the community Ground Zero helped create.

“For me, the best part was meeting all the people in the scene and helping with all the bands,” she says. “They’d call me either ‘mom’ or ‘Auntie Zero.’”

That sense of community even extended to one of Ground Zero’s most unexpected features: its puppets in residence.

Rodney Rocker, Sheena Crusty and The Goon are a trio of felt and foam puppets Walden and Quintero created to interview bands for Ground Zero’s social media.

“Yeah, the puppets. We started making them at the smaller space just because they were fun,” Quintero says. “Andy’s very artistic, and people would come over once a week to make puppets. We ended up making three and bringing them into the mix to interview bands.”

Quintero says musicians loved being interviewed by the puppets, a novelty that set Ground Zero apart from any other Phoenix venue, DIY or otherwise.

“It’s amazingly fun to talk to people like that, and everyone seems to really like it,” Quintero says.

The puppets will outlive the venue itself, as Quintero says the pair plans to keep the project going after Ground Zero closes in January.

Why Ground Zero is shutting down

Running a DIY venue brought joy and purpose, but creativity and community have limits. For Quintero, Ground Zero’s closure ultimately came down to finances.

“We’ve actually incurred quite a lot of debt running it for the last few months, so we can’t do it anymore,” Quintero says. “It’s rent, it’s internet, it’s everything that goes along with (a venue) and it got to be too much.”

It’s a tenuous time for independent music venues and even more uncertain for DIY spaces. Quintero says declining attendance and rising costs over the past year compounded their financial strain. Crowds thinned throughout 2025, making it harder for shows to cover mounting expenses.

“In the last few months, it’s just gotten more and more difficult to where before the shows would pay for the venue. But it’s just not the case anymore,” Quintero says. “Right now, the economy is in the dump. Nobody can afford to go do things and everything’s getting more and more expensive. So, yeah, we had to make a tough choice.”

Ground Zero is going out with a full calendar, with 18 gigs scheduled before it closes. Quintero says they are “hosting as many shows as possible.” Performances booked after the closure will move to other local venues.

DIY venues are often impermanent by nature, something Quintero says she always understood. She never expected Ground Zero to last forever, but says the experience was unforgettable and meaningful.

“It’s really, really hard to let it go,” Quintero says. “I’m a mom, and I feel very mom vibes towards these people, and it’s just hard.”

Quintero and Walden won’t be the only ones mourning Ground Zero. Heartfelt messages poured in from Phoenix musicians and supporters in the comments of the venue’s closure announcement.

“I would have never been apart of this scene in the first place if it weren’t for Ground Zero,” wrote local female noise artist I Ran Over Your Girlfriend. “Some of my favorite memories ever were at that venue. You have done so so much for this scene and we will always cherish you so much.”

Thrash metal band SaintBreaker also shared their appreciation for the space.

“Thanks for hosting several of our shows, and being a SAFE all ages DIY spot to help both local and touring bands,” the band wrote.

Despite the loss, Quintero says she’s finding perspective amid the heartbreak.

“What Andy tells me, ’cause he’s been doing this for over 20 years, so everything’s just cyclical,” she says. “The scene changes, it changes back, and then it changes again.”

So could another DIY venue be in their future? Quintero says never say never.

“We hope so. We’ll wait to see how things go, though,” Quintero says. “You can’t keep a good punk down, right?”